Business Today: the best news, analysis and comment from ‘The Irish Times’ business desk

The food sector and wages for unskilled workers are particularly vulnerable under Brexit, warns a new report

A soft Brexit will hit wages in Ireland by up 3.5 per cent to with the price of a hard Brexit being as high as 8.7 per cent for unskilled workers, writes Pat Leahy, reporting on the Copenhagen Economics report commissioned by the Government. And the figures are even more scary when it comes to the potential hit for the food sector, notes Cliff Taylor.

US drug giant Merck has chosen Ireland as the location for a new plant to manufacture its blockbuster biologic cancer drug, Keytruda. And after a nationwide search for a suitable site, Irish subsidiary MSD found one close to home – its old women’s health product facility in Swords that it had put on the market late last year.

And in more good news on the jobs front, US group Autodesk, the design software company behind AutoCad, is opening a Dublin base with initial staffing of 200, writes Charlie Taylor.

Permanent TSB, the lender with the highest level of non-performing loans, has pressed the start button on the sale of a €2 billion portfolio of loans, known as Project Glas, according to Joe Brennan.

Joe also reports that fund managers and strategists at Bank of Ireland have warned investors that stock market returns are likely to be materially lower over the next few years, with investment management head Leona Nicholson guiding towards average annual returns of around 6 per cent compared to 15 per cent in recent years.

Fiona Walsh casts an eye over reports that supermarket kingpin Tescois finally going to go head-to-head with German discounters Aldi and Lidl, with a chain of cut price stores.

And in commercial property, Jack Fagan reports that Fallon & Byrne is planning to open a flagship food hall, delicatessen and restaurant in Dundrum Town Centre.